Happy Chinese New Years Eve!

Photo today: Photo processed using Aged Photo preset (included) in Adobe Lightroom 2. Yesterday late afternoon we drove an hour and 45 minutes to LA to visit Dad. He had been traveling in Asia for a month and just returned, so it was a good time to visit him. Plus, his friend gave him a whole box of Bakersfield oranges and he wanted to give me some! If you've never had oranges from Bakersfield, CA, you're missing out. Only the BEST tasting oranges I've ever had! It's juicy and it's sweet. I look forward to my dad's friend bringing the oranges every winter! So the four of us went out to dinner at Canaan Restaurant, which is actually a Chinese restaurant and not Israeli. My dad and his wife Shelly: Yes, my dad has remarried since my mom passed away. People always ask me how I feel about it, out of concern for me. Ultimately, the short answer is that I'm really happy for my dad that he is able to find happiness and a companion at the age of 64. If he were single, I'd worry more about him. He met Shelly a few months after mom died. At the time he actually called me and asked me if Mom had said anything to me about him finding someone again. So I got to tell him that yes, in fact she did. Three nights prior to my mom's passing, she and I had a heart-to-heart talk and she had the foresight and kindness to tell me that she wanted Dad to remarry and find happiness again, and not be alone. Her unselfishness is such a great blessing to all of us. It freed my dad to feel okay about dating again, and it freed me from any resentment towards my dad finding someone else. That was the kind of person my mom was, always thinking of others. I tear up just thinking about it. God really gave me a great Mom. Shelly is there for my dad but she never tries to replace my mom, or try to be a mom to me. I appreciate that a lot. Today Todd and I had lunch in LA before leaving. (Dad and Shelly had previously scheduled engagement.) We went to one of our old favorite restaurants called "Yi Tiao Long" in Chinese, which basically means "Dragon". Some sauteed green beans: Leafy green veggies: Green onion pancake, one of Todd's favorites: Our favorite dumplings. The photo doesn't do it justice. It really tastes better than the photo looks! After lunch we went to a Chinese grocery store across the street and saw Chinese New Years decorations all over the store: Look at all the available types of ramen noodles! I like Asian ramen noodles better than American ones because they're more flavorful in my opinion. And people in Asia eat them, not just poor college students! All the seafood in their tanks. (I feel sorry for them sometimes...) Driving home, I saw some big white fluffy clouds over the bridge in Fallbrook, so I had to take a photo: I finished my Week 3 layout for Project 365: Full credits here. Tonight Todd made Pilaf with Chicken, Spinach, and Walnuts. We haven't had this dish in a while and it's yummy! After dinner, Todd practiced some songs with Kim Divine and Matt. They are performing at Lestats on January 30th @ ~9:00 PM. If you're local in San Diego, you can contact me if you want to come and see/hear them. I took the photo from our upstairs balcony looking down. Really like the perspective.